1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to finishing machinery and, more particularly, to a machine for removing burrs from the ends of tubing sections. Specifically, the invention relates to a deburring machine having two synchronized dogged conveyors, one conveyor being adjustable, that rotatably retain a length of tubing between the dogs while the dogs are translated past a rotating brush that removes burrs from the ends of the tube.
2. Background Information
Short lengths of tubing are used in myriad applications in the automotive field as well as other fields. Short lengths of tubing are typically cut from longer lengths of tubing stock, with the cutting operation typically leaving a number of burrs on the cut edge. The burrs generally must be removed prior to using the cut piece of tubing.
Numerous methods exist for removing the burrs from the tubing pieces, the most typical involving the use of a wire brush applied to the ends to remove the burrs. Numerous such devices are well known and understood in the relevant art, the most popular among them being a machine that employs a single dogged conveyor to drive the lengths of tubing in a direction transverse to their longitudinal axis between a pair of opposed drum-shaped wire brushes rotating about substantially parallel axes, the rotating brushes removing the burrs from the length of tubing as it is passed therebetween. With such machinery, it is desired that the length of tubing be permitted to rotate about its own axis as it passes between the wire brushes to allow the entire circumference of both ends to be properly deburred.
Such rotation of the length of tubing during deburring occurs as the dogged conveyor rolls the length of tubing along a support rail. The length of tubing is thus preferably permitted to rotate about its own axis as it is driven between the brushes by the dogged conveyor and thus should not be clamped or fixedly attached to the conveyor.
While such machines have achieved limited success for their intended purpose, such machines have not, however, been without limitation. One problem inherent in such machines is that the minimum length of tubing that can be successfully deburred is on the order of about six inches. Inasmuch as the piece of tubing is not clamped to the conveyor dogs, pieces of tubing less than six inches in length have a tendency to become unstable and shift diagonally in the wire brush section of the machine, often causing the machine to become jammed or at best resulting in a poorly deburred length of tubing. Such instability and diagonal shifting results primarily because the section of tubing is lightweight and is not clamped or fixedly attached to the dogged conveyor but is free to rotate.
It is thus desired to provide a deburring machine that permits lengths of tubing under six inches in length to be properly deburred by minimizing the potential for the length of tubing to become unstable and to shift diagonally in the wire brush section of the machine. Such a machine would preferably include a pair of support surfaces on a pair of synchronized dogged conveyors that are configured to retain the length of tubing therebetween yet permit the length of tubing to rotate axially with respect to the support surfaces to permit the entire circumference of the ends of the length of tubing to be properly deburred.